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App helps London’s visitors to get smart

The first application is aimed at visitors to the capital and allows tourists to buy tickets to major attractions in-app via Masterpass

The app uses real-time data to get around the city more efficiently

Mastercard and London & Partners, the Mayor of London’s official promotional agency, are combining their expertise to deliver smart solutions for the UK capital, kicking off with a mobile application designed to improve the visitor experience in London.

The Visit London Official City Guide app will deliver personalised experiences and uses real-time data to help visitors get around the city more efficiently and explore less busy areas of the city. It also brings payment capabilities with Masterpass to securely buy tickets to major attractions within the app, at the touch of a button.

According to recent research published in the Mayor of London’s tourism vision for London, there is a growing opportunity to increase visitor satisfaction through easier access to relevant tourist information. As an example, the survey of recent visitors to London revealed that their satisfaction improved when they were able to plan their dining experiences, with 57 per cent of respondents saying they were more satisfied when they undertook research, compared with 36 per cent satisfied when they hadn’t.

Additional findings from the London Visitor Survey showed that historic landmarks and architecture, attractions, parks and waterways, and museums and galleries all feature in the top five drivers for visiting the capital. The app provides timely and relevant content across culture, events, food, attractions, shopping and neighbourhoods, with ‘must see’, ‘nearby’ and ‘near me’ functionality enabling easy planning and booking.

Visitors to London also have a strong desire to explore areas outside of central London (zone 1) with almost three-quarters of visitors ventured outside the centre to get off the beaten track. The app will highlight some of London’s ‘hidden gems’ and allows visitors to create personalised maps and itineraries right across London, with the map available offline.

The full version of the app is live today, and features the latest Mastercard digital payments technology to buy advance tickets and avoid queues. Masterpass has been embedded into the app, which simplifies shopping because users can store all of their card details in one secure place, and make their purchase in-app.

Drawing upon content from the official visitor guide to London, visitlondon.com, and Mastercard’s Priceless Cities programme, the app will help users explore everything that’s happening in London, browse hand-selected lists of the best things to do, find hidden gems and receive offers and discounts at attractions and restaurants.

Working with Transport for London (TfL), the Visit London app will also allow visitors find the most efficient, scenic and cost efficient route of getting across London.

“We’re working with more than 70 cities around the world to introduce better transport payment systems, removing tickets to ease congestion,” said Jason Lane, executive vice president, market development, Europe at Mastercard.

He added: “London leads the way here, but it still has an opportunity to make its 19.1m visitors’ lives even easier. Why should so many people have to visit so many websites to plan their schedule when they can do it with one app that even allows them to book and pay for everything they need? This is what we want to solve with London & Partners.”

The new Visit London Official City Guide app is available on IOS and Android. During beta phase, the app has already been downloaded over 160,000 times.

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